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Berlin Man Arrested On More Animal Cruelty Charges

BERLIN — A Berlin man, already awaiting trial on dozens of counts of possession of child pornography, was arrested again this week on animal cruelty charges, a little over one year after his arrest and subsequent conviction on similar charges related to an incident in Salisbury last August.

On Wednesday, Berlin Police received information that Kirt Greenberg, 45, of Berlin, was in possession of animals in direct violation of his probation for animal cruelty charges stemming from an incident in Salisbury last August during which he left six dogs in a vehicle in a mall parking lot in 100-degree-plus heat.

Last Aug. 8, Salisbury Police responded to a call from the parking lot at the Centre at Salisbury for dogs secured in a dangerously hot vehicle. Upon arrival, police met with witnesses who pointed out a vehicle in the parking lot with six dogs inside, which appeared to be in physical duress due to the heat.

The officer gained entry into the vehicle and determined the temperature inside was over 105 degrees. One of the dogs was found to be unresponsive and later died from exposure to the heat. The remaining dogs were given water and air conditioning and slowly revived. Police located Greenberg, who confined the dogs in the hot vehicle, and he was charged with several counts of animal cruelty.

Greenberg later entered an Alford Plea to one count of animal cruelty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all but 30 of which were then suspended. He was also placed on probation for 18 months. This week, however, Greenberg was again found in possession of animals in compromised health conditions at his home in Berlin and was arrested again.

When officers arrived at Greenberg’s residence in Berlin, they observed him loading an animal cage into his vehicle. When police entered Greenberg’s home, they discovered he had hidden several more animals in the attic area. A total of seven animals were recovered from Greenberg’s vehicle and home. Due to the location the animals were found, and the temperatures in those areas, Greenberg was charged again with seven counts of animal cruelty. He remained behind bars late yesterday after being ordered held on a $10,000 bond.

His latest arrest also violated the terms of his probation for last year’s conviction in Salisbury and that case was re-opened this week. For Greenberg, his latest arrest on animal cruelty charges came while he awaits trial on two separate arrests for possession of child pornography dating back to 2009.

In January 2010, Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives began investigating Greenberg for an alleged violation of the Peeping Tom law. During the investigation, it was learned a female juvenile had been residing at Greenberg’s residence in Berlin on a temporary basis. Based on conversations the victim had with Greenberg during her time at his residence, she believed the suspect had videotaped her without her consent wearing little or no clothing.

Based on interviews with the victim, WCBI detectives in late February 2010 executed a search and seizure warrant on Greenberg’s Berlin home, recovering several computer hard drives that were turned over to the Maryland State Police Computer Crimes unit for analysis.

Through the WCBI investigation, it was learned that in September 2009, the FBI began a parallel investigation into Greenberg’s possible possession and distribution of child pornography. The FBI began investigating Greenberg when a special agent had logged into a public website in an undercover capacity and was allegedly invited by Greenberg to join his chat room. Once inside the chat room, the FBI special agent was able to download over 500 images of child pornography.